Field Marshal Tantawi for President of Egypt?

By Thanassis Cambanis

Egypt's de facto ruler walked around Cairo Monday night as state television touted Tantawi's presidential material

Tantawi caught on film strolling Cairo in a suit / YouTube

CAIRO, Egypt -- Egypt's de facto ruler, Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein
Tantawi, broadcast a downtown walkabout on Monday night that looked suspiciously like a floater
for a presidential campaign. Tantawi, the long-time defense minister and head
of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, has avoided the limelight since
taking charge of the country in February.

He was famously tagged "Mubarak's
poodle" by a U.S. diplomatic official in a Wikileaks cable. This weekend, he came under fire for his
Reaganesque testimony in Mubarak's trial, during which he
seemed to have no recollection of anything that happened between January 25 and
February 11 of this year.

"I have no idea what happened," Tantawi said when
asked about the chain of command during the killing of demonstrators, according
to leaked
testimony tweeted by Egyptian journalists willing to risk jail time by
breaking the ban on covering Mubarak's trial.

Imagine the surprise then on Monday night when an Egyptian TV channel
broadcast footage of Tantawi, in a
civilian suit rather than his uniform, strolling through downtown Cairo. A commentator on the state-run network touted Tantawi as great presidential material
for the period after military rule.

There's already a large protest planned this Friday against
the military's decision to extend the state of emergency, which was supposed to
lapse this month, until the summer of 2012. Judging by the outpouring of commentary,
jokes, and stories, Tantawi's walk
might have jangled enough nerves to boost turnout.